Rick Stone appointed Knights coach on two-year deal
0:25

Rick Stone has been officially announced as Wayne Bennett's successor at the Newcastle Knights and will take the reigns for the next two seasons.

Fox Sports

11 Aug 2014

Sport/NRL/Previews & Reviews

Assistant coach Rick Stone will take over the Knight's top job from Wayne Bennett. Source: News Corp Australia

BEFORE announcing he was walking away from the Knights, Wayne Bennett declared it would take the club “four or five years” to develop into an NRL powerhouse.

He just wasn’t prepared to hang around that long.

Rick Stone is far more optimistic — he reckons he can make significant inroads in two. And Stone’s prospects of a long-term NRL coaching career will hinge on him being right.

Stone gets a second chance at turning Newcastle into an NRL force.Source: News Corp Australia

In rugby league’s worst kept secret, Newcastle went back to the future on Monday with Stone officially appointed Bennett’s successor from next season.

Head coach for a little over two years where his team qualified for two finals series before being pushed into an assistant role under Bennett in 2012, Stone has been waiting in the wings for another opportunity.

He will have just two seasons to leave his mark during his second coming after agreeing to a two-year deal.

It’s a cautious show of support from the club with a time-frame that leaves little room for mediocrity. But Stone says he is up for the challenge.

Stone held up Penrith as an example of what clubs can achieve if they work in the right way.Source: News Limited

Asked was Bennett’s four to five year prediction too pessimistic, Stone said: “I’d like to think so.

“I’ve only got two so I’ve got to get busy and see if we can make some inroads in the next two which would be really important.

“I’m confident we can and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

Pushed on where the club might be at the end of his tenure, Stone offered up Penrith as the perfect example of what smart recruitment and hard work can achieve.

“Initially, you need to get yourself in the top eight obviously,” he said.

“I think we have a roster that is capable of doing that. I’m sure Wayne would be the first to admit there is still a roster here that is capable of doing that.

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Fox Sports

11 Aug 2014

Sport/NRL/Previews & Reviews

“I think Penrith is a great example of making some decent recruitment decisions and working hard as a group. Not a flashy playing staff but they have really got themselves in a good position this year.

“We could possibly model ourselves on something like that. We need to get some consistency back.

“Our consistency over the past couple of years hasn’t been good enough for NRL standard.”

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Sport/NRL/Previews & Reviews

He was reluctant to discuss his recruitment or retention plans without first being brought up to date with the club’s salary cap position but he is a great believer in bringing through young talent and says the Knights are in a strong position in that regard.

Asked specifically about off-contract senior players such as Willie Mason, Chris Houston and Dave Fa’alogo, Stone admitted it might be difficult to retain them all.

Given his age, Mason would appear to be the player under the most pressure to be offered a new deal.

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